A female rugby player, Emma Winch, has told of her "lucky escape"
after a heavy duty lawn roller hit her tent as she slept following a prank
at a tournament in west Wales.

Emma Winch was due to take part in the youth ladies rugby tournament in Aberaeron for her team, Pontyclun FalconsPhoto: JAMES DAVIES PHOTOGRAPHY

By Alastair Jamieson

8:00AM BST 31 Aug 2009

Ms Winch, 26, suffered minor head injuries when she was struck by the roller as she slept in Aberaeron.

Police arrested 21 men, all from the Merthyr Tydfil area, in the wake of the incident in the early hours of Saturday morning. All 21 men have since been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Ms Winch, from Bridgend, south Wales, was due to take part in the youth ladies rugby tournament in Aberaeron for her team, Pontyclun Falcons.

Aberaeron Rugby Club has been hosting a Festival of Sevens tournament since Thursday with the main men's event taking place on Sunday.

Glyndwr Evans, the club secretary, confirmed that the Merthyr Tydfil U19 youth team has since been dismissed from the tournament.

Ms Winch claimed most of those arrested had been teenage rugby players who had got drunk unsupervised.

She is also angry that despite her injuries nobody has contacted her to apologise for the accident.

She spent the night in hospital, discharging herself this afternoon, but will not know the result of radiography tests until Tuesday.

"It happened at about 1.30am on Saturday. I was sharing the tent with two friends who had only just come in and I was dropping off to sleep," she said. "I heard it coming. There was like a lot of banging and then I heard people laughing and then I thought someone had fallen on me. It was totally dark and my friends went outside to see what had happened."

She added: "My head had actually stopped the roller. I was lying on an air bed so I was also raised off the ground a bit.

"My friends were outside trying to see if the people who had done it were gone and I was sitting up inside.

"I feel that I have had a lucky escape. A lot of people have said the same thing to me."

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesman said: "'In the early hours of Saturday the 29th of August, police were called to an incident in Aberaeron.

''It transpired that a large metal lawn roller used on the rugby grounds had been rolled over a tent whilst a 26-year-old female occupant from a visiting rugby team was sleeping.

''Paramedics attended and the female was initially taken to Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth. Later she was transferred to Morriston Hospital in Swansea with head injuries.

''As a result of inquiries 21 males from the Merthyr area were arrested and have all been bailed pending Police inquiries.

''Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident to contact Dyfed-Powys Police on 08453 302000.''